Die!
by animenerd26
Summary: We all know that Brokenstar killed his own father. But what exactly DID happen on that fateful day? And what were Raggedstar's thoughts on this ultimate betrayal? Rated T for violence (just to be safe). Reuploaded because last time failed miserably and for whatever reason I couldn't fix it (sorry about that folks).


The fight had been quick. WindClan didn't even know what hit them. Raggedstar and his patrol, which consisted of him, Brokentail, Boulder, Blackfoot, and Scorchwind, had scented them on their territory by the tunnel. Instead of confronting them head on as usual, Raggedstar decided it would be better to ambush them from downwind. His plan worked like a charm, and the fight was over almost as soon as it begun. There were only four WindClan cats in the enemy patrol (Deadfoot, Mudclaw, Onewhisker, and the new apprentice Webpaw, he recognized), giving them the superior numbers. Raising his tail to attack, his patrol had ambushed them, and instead of fighting like warriors, the WindClan patrol turned tail like cowards, running back towards the tunnel. Raggedstar was greatly pleased with the result. There was hardly a scratch on his patrol, while the WindClan patrol had been shredded before they managed to escape.

"Boulder, Scorchwind, Blackfoot." Raggedstar called. The three warriors in question made their way over to their leader. "Follow them through the tunnel. Make sure they actually go back to their side of the boarder, then remark the boarder so they remember just whose territory this belongs to."

"Yes Raggedstar." the three said in unison. They bounded off into the tunnel after the WindClan warriors, leaving Raggedstar alone with his son. Raggedstar sat down in the grass, his claws still gleaming with the blood of the WindClan warriors, when he felt his son come up behind him.

"Why did we attack them from behind like cowards?" Brokentail growled. "We should have faced them head on!"

"Because," the older tom began to explain, "I wanted to win this fight with as little injuries as possible. I figured that if we took them by surprise, then we would end up victorious with little to no injuries on our side. And I was right. Not all fights have to be vicious, head-on assults, Brokentail. Sometimes it's best to take the route that leads to less bloodshed, for the sake of your Clanmates."

Brokentail didn't reply, and was silent for quite a while. Raggedstar kept his eyes on the tunnel, waiting for his warriors to return, however, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy around his son. Never before had he ever had a reason not to trust in his son; after all, as far as he was aware, Brokentail was a strong, loyal ShadowClan warrior. But as of late he was starting to seriously reconsider his choice in making his own son his deputy, especially with his recent dreams of kits fighting in battles. Perhaps Yellowfang had been right, in that Brokentail was not suited for the job. Maybe StarClan was trying to warn him of what would happen if Brokentail took over after he lost his ninth life. But a part of him didn't want to believe that his son could be so cruel, even after witnessing his son's brutal training regiment. Maybe he was a bit harsh, yes, but to go so far as to break the Warrior Code and make kits fight in warrior battles? No, StarClan _had_ to be warning him of something else. They_had_ to be! He refused to believe his own son could do such a thing, even now with all the overwhelming evidence against him.

"Raggedstar."

The older tom jumped slightly as the silence was broken by the very cat he was thinking about. He didn't look over to him, still waiting for any sign of Boulder's and Scorchwind's return, but he gave a slight nod for the young deputy to continue.

"Could I ask you to do something for me?"

Curiousity, as well as dread, pricked at his skin. Something seemed off in the way his son spoke to him. His voice was oddly void of any emotion, and out of his peripheral vision, Raggedstar could see that his son's muscles were tense, as if he were expecting an attack to happen at any moment, and his head was bowed, almost as if he were grieving. But grieving for what? Raggedstar had the feeling that he didn't want to know.

"Yes, son, what is it?" Raggedstar asked slowly, swiveling his ears towards Brokentail and keeping his peripheral vision on him.

"_**DIE!**_"

Brokentail was so quick, Raggedstar almost didn't see his attack coming. He attempted to jump out of the way of his son's incoming claws, while at the same time striking out at him, but while he only managed to claw his son's shoulder, Brokentail's claws scored through his throat. His blood gushed out like a fountain, staining his pelt red with his own blood.

Raggedstar fell to the ground hard, his eyes wide with shock and horror as he realized what had just happened. His throat felt like it was on fire, his own blood pooled around him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a breath of air in. He could feel himself choking on his own blood, and already his vision was beginning to blurr. Raggedstar was clawing the earth around him, trying to hold onto something, _anything,_ to keep himself conscious and prevent himself from dying. But at the same time he knew it was futile.

_This is it. This is how I lose my first life. To my traitorous son._ Raggedstar thought as blackness began to creep into the edges of his vision. He could just make out the form of his son standing motionlessly over him, and with the last bit of air he had in his lungs, he managed to sputter out, "Wh-Why...!?"

At first it seemed like Brokentail wasn't going to answer him, but finally the young tom murmured, "Because you're weak." He must had seen the confusion flicker through his dying father's eyes, because he continued on after a brief pause. "ShadowClan was weak under Cedarstar's leadership, and it has only become weaker under yours. I thought, along with the rest of the Clan, that you could make us strong again. Make us _feared_ again. But unlike the others, I can see that I was wrong to think that of you. In the end, you're just as weak as Cedarstar was. Perhaps even _weaker._ If _I_ were leader of ShadowClan, _I_ would have confronted those mouse-hearted WindClan warriors face-to-face, instead of sneaking up behind them like a rat in the shadows of a trash heap. If _I_ were leader of ShadowClan, WindClan would be taught a _real_ lesson about hunting in our territory, instead of just being cuffed over the ear like a troublesome kit. If _I_ were the leader of ShadowClan, no Clan would dare mess with us ever again. We would be the strongest, the fiercest, the _deadliest_ Clan in the forest, and all the other Clans would have to bow down to us like the weaklings they are. And that's why you must die. Today only proved to me what I had begun to suspect. You will never be a good leader for ShadowClan. As long as you are leader, WindClan will just waltz into our territory and steal our prey as often as they want, simply because you refuse to do more than just chase them away everytime they cross our boarder. Once I'm leader, I'll make sure WindClan _never_ messes with ShadowClan again. I do regret that it had to come to this, Father. Truly, I do. It may not seem like it now, but I do love you, and I will miss you when you're gone. But it's just as you taught me: The Clan must come first. Watch proudly from your place in StarClan as your son does what you could not."

Raggedstar wanted so badly to say something nasty to his monster of a son. To curse his existance. Or to at least strip him of his deputy position before he lost his first life. But nothing came out of his mouth except gurgling noises and blood. The last thing Raggedstar saw was his son turning away to head back to the camp. And then everything went black.

~*~*~*~

The first thing Raggedstar was aware of was the soft breeze ruffling his dark brown tabby pelt. Next was the sharp, familiar scent of pine under his paws and around him. When he opened his amber eyes, he briefly had to screw them shut again as the sunlight blinded him. _Have I recovered from losing my first life already?_ He wondered as he carefully opened his eyes again. He soon got his answer when a familiar dark gray tom with a white underbelly stalked out of the undergrowth towards him, his pelt glittering with stars.

"Cedarstar!" Raggedstar exclaimed, jumping to his feet. A warm smile made it's way to the older leader's face as he walked up to stand in front of his successor.

"Greetings Raggedstar." the tom purred, his voice young and strong once more. Raggedstar touched noses with the old leader, breathing in his comforting scent as he did so. He noted he could smell the stars in his fur, along with the familiar scent of pines and marshland.

"It's good to see you again! Have you come to stay with me while I lose my first life?"

Cedarstar's smile fell, and was soon replaced with a frown.

"No Raggedstar, I have not." he replied.

"Then, if that's not it, why are you here? Perhaps to give me a prophecy?" the dark brown tabby asked, confusion etched clearly onto his face.

The older tom shook his head, murmuring, "That's not it, either, I'm afraid. I'm here to guide you to StarClan, Raggedstar."

Shock replaced confusion on his face. Suddenly the whole world around them felt like it was spinning, and Raggedstar had to sit down to keep himself from falling over. Stunned silence followed Cedarstar's words as Raggedstar tried to take in what the old leader had just said. And yet, try as he may, he just couldn't believe it.

"That's...that's not possible..." he finally said after a while, his voice barely above a whisper. Cedarstar's face gentled, and his eyes reflected pity for the younger cat in front of him. He place his tail on Raggedstar's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"I know this is a bit of a shock for you, Raggedstar, but -"

"It's not possible!" Raggedstar yowled suddenly, leaping to his feet and smacking Cedarstar's tail away from him. "I haven't even lost a life until now! I had all nine of my lives! I _can't_ be dead yet! I just _can't!_ It's not possible! You're lying! You have to be! I'm only losing my first life, not my ninth!"

Cedarstar's face remained solemn as Raggedstar yelled at him. His amber eyes still flashed with pity for the young tom before him. For a moment, silence gripped the air between them as Raggedstar panted for air after his outburst, though the dark brown tabby realized after a moment that he was doing it not because he needed the air, but simply out of habit, which only added to the growing dread in his chest.

"Raggedstar," Cedarstar finally said in a calm tone of voice, "Brokentail's attack didn't just take away one life. It took away _all nine._"

"Wh-What...? But...how...?"

"There are some wounds even StarClan cannot heal, Raggedstar. We are not as powerful as you believe us to be. When Brokentail ripped out your throat, the wound was so grievous that even _we_ could not save you."

"Then...Then that's it. I really _am_ dead." Raggedstar whispered, sitting down once more as the full seriousness of the situation hit him. "I couldn't even serve my Clan properly for all nine of my lives. Instead...Instead I just...I've doomed them, haven't I? Oh StarClan, I've doomed them! Yellowfang was right! What have I done!?"

"Oh Raggedstar...I'm so, so sorry. You may have made many mistakes in your short life, but you've never deserved this." the older gray tom murmured softly. "But know that what happens now is not your fault. Your son was cursed to travel down a bloody path of death and destruction from the moment he was born. Nothing either you or Yellowfang or anyone else in the Clan could have done would have stopped him."

Raggedstar could only nod dumbly at Cedarstar in responce, his mind still whirling with the realization of his sudden death and the fact that his own son would now destroy the Clan he fought so hard to protect and serve. He barely felt Cedarstar nudge him to his feet, or heard the tom's soft mew urging him to follow him back into the stars. He barely realized that his own paws were moving next to Cedarstar's as the tom lead him to StarClan. He didn't notice the dark, musky, forboding forest to his left, or that Cedarstar lead him to the bright, sweet-smelling lands to his right, which seemed to boarder the other place. He could only think of what horrors he had left his Clan to, and what a failure of a leader he had been to them during his short reign.

_Scorchwind, Featherstorm, Brackenfoot, Lizardfang, and even you, Yellowfang...my poor, sweet Yellowfang...ShadowClan, please, forgive me for my failures. Forgive me for breaking the Warrior Code. Forgive me for dooming you all. And most of all, forgive me for ever having Brokentail with Yellowfang in the first place._


End file.
